Features

My ALCTS Experience: Keri Cascio

Keri Cascio, St. Charles City-County Library District

I originally joined ALCTS to get a discount for a workshop, but the benefits I have received as a member have gone far beyond that first class. I was honored to be sponsored by ALCTS for the inaugural Emerging Leader class of 2007, which lead to an internship with the Board of Directors. This internship opened many doors for me within ALA, and allowed me to build lasting relationships with the ALCTS Office staff and Division leaders.

I have spent the last few years as a member of the Continuing Education Committee, and I am very proud of the work we have accomplished. I assisted with the implementation of the ALCTS webinar series by developing and offering a number of “how to present a webinar” sessions. I have continued on this project by training volunteers and presenters on webinar software and presentation techniques, and acting as technical support. In the last fiscal year, ALCTS hosted sixteen webinars for a total of 1,842 attendees, and we have set a goal of offering at least twenty more in the year to come.

ALCTS supports a number of interest groups, and this is where I find the most interesting discussions and ideas to bring back to my library. I am a regular at the Public Libraries Technical Services IG and the Collection Management in Public Libraries IG sessions. The best thing about interest groups is that they rise and fall with interests of ALCTS members, so you can petition to create a new one at any time.

During the time that I have volunteered for ALCTS, I have found it to be my home within the much larger (and sometimes confusing) ALA structure. In all that I do for ALCTS, I find myself surrounded by people who care about every aspect of library work and stewardship. I hope you all feel at home, too.